China to boost local demand to aid ailing solar sector: report

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China is taking steps to boost its domestic demand for solar power to make the sector less reliant on exports, the official China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday.

The National Energy Administration has asked all provinces to report by October 15 their plans on implementing a pilot scheme to supply electricity via small solar panel power generators by 2015, the newspaper reported quoting sources.

Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, eastern and coastal regions will be the first few regions to implement the solar panel power generation pilot scheme, the paper said.

China's export-focused solar panel industry has been slammed by excess manufacturing capacity that created a glut and forced companies to slash prices. Major solar panel makers such as Trina Solar Ltd TSL.N and LDK Solar Co Ltd LDK.N have recently announced plans to slash jobs.

A European Union's decision to launch an anti-dumping investigation on Chinese solar panel exports has also weighed on sentiment in the sector.

The newspaper reported on Tuesday that the China Development Bank CHDB.UL will prioritize loans to 12 top solar companies to give financial support to the struggling Chinese solar industry.